


Opening The Gates and His Mouth

by erroetcresco



Series: What Staring Leads To [8]
Category: Class of 198x (Web Series), The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Drunk Driving, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 06:08:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13828128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erroetcresco/pseuds/erroetcresco
Summary: The last talk James had with Aleks didn't go well. Maybe he oughta try again.Aleks works on fixing up some kind of friendship with James - even if it takes some stupid cliches to do it.Return of the 198X AU.(Takes place after The Bare Minimum is Better)





	Opening The Gates and His Mouth

**Author's Note:**

> I'VE DONE IT. I've been wrestling with this chapter for over two months. I just could not get these two to do what I needed without it seeming wrong. I think I'm alright with this though - I'm happy something has finally clicked. 
> 
> I hope I can get another chapter out in less than two months this time. 
> 
> As always, please let me know if you catch any mistakes. I've been staring at this for so long that everything looks the same.

Aleks woke up the next morning with a headache pressing on the back of his brain, and sharp memories of the night before. He groaned, and rolled to turn off his radio alarm, set to the ungodly time of 7am. He dragged himself up to sit on the edge of his bed, toes curling in the carpet in an attempt to pull himself together. He had to get up and go work at his dad’s shit sports store, he had to get his ass in the shower and downstairs before his dad god pissed, he needed something to settle his stomach and ease his headache, but for a second all he could do was sit there. He dragged his hands over his face, wiping crust from his eyes, and then scuffed his nails through his hair. Aleks was a little hungover, sure, but mostly his brain was stuck on one image - James, of how he had looked hopeful, than hurt - how he had reached out. 

It pissed him off - It made things more complicated. Aleks could admit he didn’t hate James, wasn’t even sure if he was really angry at this point, but that James could reach out like it was nothing, like Aleks would just accept any old olive branch passed towards him… He groaned and shoved his face back into his hands. 

“Aleksandr,” His dad thundered from downstairs, and he snapped out of it. 

“Yeah, coming,” he shouted back, and pushed himself out of bed. He couldn’t think about this right now, not about James and what he said last night. It was too much for 7 am, and three and half hours of sleep. 

He got through his morning with just a couple of aspirin, and his hangover was pretty much gone by noon, but the conversation on the porch last night stayed over his head like a stormcloud in one of those cartoons he used to watch as a kid. It had been just too easy. James offered him an out, but left it all open ended, which made it just too complicated at the same time. 

During lunch, he snuck around to the back of the movie theater, and split a joint with a kid throwing out the old popcorn, Trevor. Aleks had met him a couple times; he was one of the kids that slipped in and out of the burnout group. He didn’t know Trevor worked for the movie theater, but hey, maybe he could get some free tickets out of him. After wolfing down a hamburger in the food court, he speedwalked back to the sports store, and managed to get past his dad to the register without a lecture about being on time. Aleks had hoped getting high would help shake up the mood that was bogging him down, and it did - to an extent. Instead of worrying this way and that about James last night, he got stuck thinking about James in the future. What would he do at school? What if he kept trying to reach out? What if, maybe worse, he just left it at that, all in Aleks’ court, and ignored him completely? He chewed his fingernails, stocked the shelves, and tumbled scenario after scenario over in his head. It occurred to him that maybe he was being a little paranoid, that maybe the weed he’d smoked over his lunch break was messing with him a little, but that wasn’t stopping him. Maybe he was a little over logic right then. The last question kept coming up, over and over. What if James just left Aleks to his life, and moved on, and graduated and moved away and never saw Aleks again? Shoving one last boxed football on the shelf, he came to a decision. 

“Hey, dad, I gotta go use the bathroom,” Aleks called, and made his way out of the store without waiting for a response. Normally, he’d worry about his dad getting pissed about that, too, but he was already a little overwhelmed in the anxiety department. He sped off to a payphone, and dug quarters out of his pocket. Oh, but wait. He paused - he didn’t know James’ number. He lugged the phonebook up from it’s chain and flipped to the white pages, looking for Wilson. With a little bit of logic, he managed to narrow it down to one Wilson. Aleks left his finger on the page, marking the number, and started dialing. 

With his bottom lip between his teeth, Aleks leaned against the booth, and waited for James to pick up the phone. It’d be easy. The phone rang. He’d tell James that they could start with something easy, like grabbing a burger, or splitting a bean after school - nothing too much, nothing that had to lead to anything, just a way to try it out. Second Ring. Hell, maybe he should just ask James for a ride from school to the mall Monday. That’d save him the mad dash to the bus stop in order not to be late to his grounding, and it’d be a short test of the waters. Halfway through the third ring, the phone picked up, and Aleks perked up. 

“Wilson residence,” A pleasant woman’s voice called through the phone. Aleks’ heart thudded to a stop. He hadn’t thought of what to say if James wasn’t the one to pick up. Weren’t his parents never home? Before he could really think about it, he had slammed the phone back onto its hook, and groaned. Shit. That was so awkward. If he called back now, he’d look like a total spaz. No, he’d wait. He could talk to James Monday. What was the rush? He wiped his mouth, feeling vaguely sweaty, and made his way back to the store. His dad gave him a hard stare when he got back, but he knew better then to look down. He met his dad’s eyes, nodded, and then walked calmly back to the register. If he looked guilty, his dad would deem him guilty. It didn’t matter much what he was guilty of. 

He rang up a few more customers, picked at his cuticles, and rearranged the cherry chapstick. After a couple of hours, Aleks had mostly calmed down. It would be fine, he could catch James at school. 

But Monday rolled around, and Aleks didn’t see more of James then the back of his head. It was like any time he managed to figure out where he was, James had already gone a different way. By Wednesday, it was obvious that James was avoiding him - and Aleks couldn’t even really blame him. Their conversation Saturday night, well, Aleks regretted it. He’d be harsh, too harsh. James probably even thought he was doing what Aleks wanted. On Friday, he waited by James’ locker until there was no question he’d be late to the store - James never showed up. He ground his teeth together, shoved his hands in his pockets, and made his way to work, angry at himself, and James, but mostly himself. 

By the time he closed out the store, he had shoved it all to the back of his mind. A distraction sounded like a good idea, and a distraction meant yet another party - more sales, more drinks, more conversations with people that weren’t James. It was easy to sneak out after his dad took his sleeping pills, didn’t even bother hiding he wasn’t home. His dad wouldn’t wake up until the morning anyway. 

Aleks swayed slightly, jostled by the crowd gathering in the kitchen. Someone handed him a beer can, one of the many that was making the rounds. On the count of three, Aleks stabbed his house key into the can, opened the can, and started chugging. Beers exploded through the kitchen, foaming and dripping on the floor as at least ten different guys raced to finish shotgunning first. With a victorious shout, someone crushed their beer can. Aleks hazarded a glance up, and saw Steve pumping his fist in the air. God damn it, he hadn’t known Steve was here. He hoped alcohol wouldn’t throw fuel onto some kind of grudge he might have. If Aleks got a black eye tonight, his dad would absolutely know he snuck out. Aleks closed his eyes again, and finished at a respectable third place. He let out an overwhelming burp and gagged, before patting his chest a couple of times and riding it out. 

“Hey Aleks,” a dude on the baseball team called him and his fanny pack into the living room, and he left without seeing who lost the contest. 

“Sup?” He asked, sliding up to a group of girls who played softball, and a couple dudes who were probably hoping to get their dick wet tonight. They handed over some cash; he rolled them a joint. For the second one, a girl leaned into his side to pretend to learn how to roll her own. She’d probably just end up fucking up the rolling papers, if she actually tried. He handed the joint over, and she accepted with a giggle, holding it between her lips. She looked at Aleks, expecting him to light it. 

He could probably teach her how to shotgun smoke, get to second base by the end of the night, but he wasn’t really...feeling it. The thought of James ignoring him on all week was still hanging over the back of his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the kid from last weekend, Trevor, hovering awkwardly by the stairs, looking around. Yeah, he’d rather rescue Trevor. He excused himself without lighting their joints, and ambled up to Trevor. Kid didn’t even have a beer. 

“Hey, man,” Aleks said, and clapped him on the shoulder. Trevor startled. 

“Oh, geez, dude” He said, patting his chest like Aleks had given him a heart attack. 

“You wanna split another bean?” Aleks asked, and enjoyed the easy grin that beamed off Trevor’s face. 

“Yeah, yeah. That’d be good,” he nodded, and followed Aleks as he made his way to the back porch. Some people were gathered around a table out there, so Aleks sat down on the edge of the porch, and put his supplies in his lap. Trevor lowered down next to him, and even provided a book of matches to light it. 

“You see James tonight?” Trevor asked, after puffing on the joint for a moment. Aleks was caught off guard. 

“Why would I have seen him?” Aleks asked. 

“Figured you would know, man,” Trevor said. Aleks made a noise of protest, and Trevor just raised disbelieving eyebrows until he shut up. 

“Why’re you looking for him?” Aleks asked, taking the joint when offered, and flicking the ash into the lawn below. 

“He’s the one who said I should come, I dunno. We have English together,” Trevor said. Aleks was quiet for a second, considering that. He hadn’t known James really...had friends beside Steve. “He helps me out” Trevor continued, “in class, I mean. I get my letters confused sometimes, he tells me the answers if the teacher calls on me.” He looked embarrassed to admit it. Aleks wasn’t completely sure why he did. 

“Yeah, he’s, uh” Aleks tried, when it was clear Trevor was done speaking. “He’s a nice guy.” His tone didn’t even convince himself. 

“I dunno if I’d go that far,” Trevor snorted, and took the joint back. “But he’s nice about you.” 

“What do you mean?” Aleks asked, curiosity piqued. Trevor puffed on the bean for a moment, before responding. 

“I dunno. Some people were talking shit, you know? People talk. He shuts them up,” Trevor shrugged. “He’s probably used to that, with making people shut up about Steve ‘n’ stuff.” 

“What do you mean, people talk?” Aleks asked. People were talking about him? He wasn’t that interesting. 

“Yeah, man. You show up with bruises sometimes, and you’re a drug dealer. And everyone knows you slept with James. And you -” Trevor started listing. 

“Okay, okay, I get it, yeah,” Aleks cut him off, and leaned back. “Didn’t think people would bother talking about me.” 

“Well they don’t, in my English class. Anymore, at least,” Trevor said, and he sounded pretty cheerful about that. 

“Cause of James?” Aleks asked. 

“Cause of James,” Trevor confirmed. They sat in silence again for a little while, just passing the joint back and forth. Trevor seemed perfectly content to enjoy the quiet, but it was making Aleks’ brain feel like it would burst. Finally, he groaned, and set his head in his hands. 

“Goddamn, he’s so complicated,” Aleks complained, tired of thinking so much about James, tired of wanting him in his life, tired of the sting that kept at him every time he thought about the way James dismissed him, weeks ago. 

“Uh,” Trevor paused. He sounded as confused as Aleks felt. “You wanna, uh...talk about it or something?” 

“No,” Aleks said, propping his head up on his hand, elbow pressed against his knee. “Maybe. I don’t know.” 

“Okay,” Trevor passed him back the joint. Aleks accepted it. It was getting low, and the smoke was hot in his throat when he inhaled. 

“I just don’t know what I’m doing with him. I don’t know what he’s thinking or what he’s trying to get at,” Aleks said, quietly, but secretly a little relieved. Trevor nodded, and was quiet for a moment, until it was clear Aleks had said all he wanted. 

“I mean, you could ask him?” Trevor said, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Aleks snorted. 

“Yeah, right,” he agreed, sarcastic and just a bit defeated. He took another too hot hit from the joint, and then tossed the burnt up stub to the lawn. He crushed it with his foot. 

“No, I mean. You should talk to him,” Trevor said, and stood up. Aleks followed suit, figuring they’d go back inside, get a beer. “I’ll drive.” 

“What?” Aleks swung around to face him. “Drive where?” 

“To James’ house? Do you know where he lives?” Trevor answered. He looked at Aleks innocently. 

“Are you high? What are you talking about?” Aleks hissed. Trevor shrugged. 

“Yeah, dude. We literally just smoked.” 

“Shut up, don’t be stupid” Aleks turned back around to go into the house. Trevor followed him into the noise. 

“Alright, but you’re the one being a total pussy,” Trevor said, and Aleks grit his teeth. He headed for the kitchen. 

“What makes you the goddamned expert then?” Aleks asked, grabbing a beer from the fridge and popping it open. 

“Just saying what makes the most sense,” Trevor shrugged. Aleks took a long swig, ignoring the fact Trevor was just...staring at him, expectantly. When he lowered the beer, Trevor just kept staring. Aleks glared back, then threw up his free hand. 

“Goddamn, fine. Fine! Let’s go to James’ house in the middle of the goddamn night, and throw rocks at his window or some shit!” He said, just as earnest as he was sarcastic. This was a shit idea. Trevor loaded him into his car, chatting amiably like they weren’t doing something crazy stupid. Life wasn’t a goddamn rom-com, no one wants to wake up in the middle of the night to a drunk ex. Ex? Was he an ex? Not really. By the time Aleks had made up his mind to back out, Trevor was three blocks away from the party. 

“I don’t know about this,” Aleks said, voice smaller than he’d like. He cleared his throat, like that was the problem. 

“Don’t be a pussy,” Trevor said, as if that was some kind of answer. Aleks didn’t take any comfort from it, just gave him a side eye and took a big gulp from the beer he already had in his hand. 

“Take a left on Broadbank,” He muttered, before digging into his fanny pack. If he was gonna do this, he was gonna need some courage from a powdery friend. 

By the time Trevor pulled into James’ neighborhood - which had taken Aleks a couple tries to get right, things looked different in the dark - he had taken a couple bumps and finished his beer. It was probably lucky there hadn’t been too many cops out tonight, what with their reckless driving, and intoxication. Hell, it was probably lucky they pulled up to James’ house at all, but unfortunately, Aleks couldn’t feel any gratitude for that. All he felt was a pit in his stomach. He turned to Trevor, who was watching him expectantly. 

“I don’t know what window is his,” He admitted. Trevor shook his head. 

“You’re kidding,” He said. “You can’t back out now.” 

“Well what do you want me to do? Break into his goddamned house?” Aleks demanded. 

“No, just, I don’t know! This sounded like a good idea, fuck” Trevor looked between him and the house, before grinning smugly. 

“Why are you looking so-” Aleks said, and turned around. In one of the upstairs windows, James was staring down at them. They made eye contact and Aleks swallowed. 

“Come on dude, you got this,” Trevor shoved him, hard enough to knock him into the door. 

“Okay, goddamn, let me get out in one piece,” Aleks snapped. He extracted himself from the car with just a little bit of stumbling. By the time he righted himself, ran a hand through his hair, took a deep breath, and looked up again, James had opened his window. 

“You know Trevor?” James asked, which was not what Aleks was expecting his first words to be. 

“Uh, kind of,” Aleks looked back to the car. Trevor gave him a cheesy thumbs up. God, the kid was a loss cause. 

“Goddamn, don’t wake my parents up or anything. Pipe down,” James said. His hair was down, soft around his shoulders. The light behind him gave him a fuzzy, haloed effect. Aleks could feel a soft warmth spread from his chest, up his neck and across his cheeks. 

“Sorry, I, uh. Can we talk?” Aleks asked. James stared down at him, face blank. Aleks swallowed again, suddenly very aware of how dry his mouth was. 

“Fine. Go around to the back gate, asshole,” James said, and disappeared from the window. It shut a moment after. Aleks turned to Trevor, and gave him a shrug. Trevor rolled down the window. 

“So should I wait here, or?” He asked, leaning over the passenger’s seat to talk to him. 

“Uh. I don’t know. Um… wait five minutes? I guess? Just in case he tells me to fuck off,” Aleks said. Trevor gave him a grin. 

“Yeah, alright. Five minutes,” He sat back in his seat, and shut the car off. Goddamn. Trevor was too nice for his own good, who just sat and waited for someone they didn’t even really know? Aleks nodded to himself, and then circled to the side of James’ house, finding a gate in the high wooden fence. After a moment, he heard the backdoor open and close, and he felt a buzz of nerves fly up his spine, making him straighten his back. Then, the gate swung open. 

“What?” James asked, blunt, and wearing flannel pajama pants with a ratty t shirt. Aleks sucked a breath in through his teeth. He was the least made up Aleks had ever see him, but between the coke, the weed, and the beers, god, he was beautiful. 

“I, uh, I wanted to talk to you,” Aleks got out, and then shut his mouth again. How did he get all caught up in Trevor’s thought process? He was fuckin’ dumb, that was his problem. 

“I have a phone, and you know, also, it’s like one in the morning,” James shot back. His posture was casual, arms crossed, but loosely, and lips pursed just slightly. He didn’t seem mad, but Aleks couldn’t be sure. He wasn’t sure of anything right now. 

“I actually called,” He admitted, sheepish, “but someone else picked up, and I panicked.” James’ eyebrows crept up his forehead, slowly. 

“That explains the weird call my mom got,” He said. “Panicked?” 

“Yeah, you know, I hadn’t thought about what to say if you didn’t pick up, so, I just, you know, hung up,” Aleks explained. James stared at him for a moment, and then giggled. 

“You’re such a spaz,” James chuckled out. Aleks gave a sheepish grin, and swayed slightly. Silence stretched between them for a moment. 

“So what’d you call about, then?” James prompted, and Aleks nearly mentally tripped over himself. 

“Oh. Uh, can I….can I get a ride to the mall on Monday?” He said, before grimacing. Smooth. 

“You...came over in the middle of the night to ask for a ride...on Monday?” James repeated slowly, before looking over Aleks’ shoulder. “How did Trevor get a car?” He asked, and then shook his head like he was dismissing the question immediately. 

“Yeah, I mean,” Aleks felt like he was grasping at straws. He hadn’t even known what that expression really meant, but it was happening. “Sorry.” 

“Yeah. Uh, okay, well. I’ll see you on Monday,” James said, and stepped back. Aleks immediately stepped forward. 

“Wait, James. Shit,” He said, and rubbed a hand through his gelled hair. He wasn’t good at this stuff. “I didn’t - I wanted to say sorry about last week. I said some shit, I didn’t mean it. I really didn’t.” It was like his mouth had opened and the gates on what he wanted to say had as well. It all was spilling out. “I’ve been trying to catch you all week. I feel like shit. I shouldn’t have told you to fuck off.” 

James was watching him carefully, eyes glittering a bit in the streetlight. Aleks snapped his mouth shut. Behind him, he could hear Trevor start his car again. 

“You’re drunk, huh?” James finally asked. Aleks swayed. 

“A bit, yeah,” He said. There wasn’t any point to lying now. He had come, he had said what he needed to. He’d spent the last week with anxiety crawling through his brain about the grey areas James had created - it was done, one way or another now. “And I miss you.” 

James gave an exaggerated shrug, hands coming up to rub goosebumps away from his bare arms. 

“You wanna hang out in the pool house, or something? I think I can sneak us a couple of beers,” James finally said. Aleks could feel his own face light up, and he didn’t bother to try and hide it. His lips stretched into a grin, a real one, he knew his eyes were scrunching up. James gave him a smile back, half his face turning up in a half-smirk. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that,” Aleks said, and followed James into his backyard.


End file.
